Four Days And Four Nights The Zellbadian Version
by Parallel-Blue13115
Summary: Ugh, didn't know quite where to put this. Fatal Frame, Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Trigun, Gundam Wing, and Persona. What happens when 8 heroes are invited to Himuro for a 'party? Can they survive? DISCONTINUED.
1. Smile, as your entrance they block

Disclaimer: Although it breaks my heart, I own NOTHING, except part of the Zellbadian thing, which will be explained more thoroughly in a moment. I do not own Final Fantasy VII and VIII. I do not own Fatal Frame. I do not own Gundam Wing. I do not own Persona. I do not own Trigun. Period. End of story. And please don't try to sue me. I'm poor, young, and am currently out of work. School does that to you.  
  
And now for my brief introduction to the story. This was written for one of my college classes, and I came up with the idea after getting addicted to Fatal Frame and Persona at the same time. What a great combination. It breaks my heart that there aren't any sites really, REALLY dedicated to the games. But the Zellbadia idea and everything that ties in with it was an idea that evolved from my friend and I in art class one day. You'll soon find out the rest. Oh yeah, this story is completely MY version. So, there are people who are supposed to be dead but are miraculously brought back from the dead and other people who aren't even supposed to know each other but do, or vice-versa. Oh yeah, and Maya has a brother. Don't ask me why I decided to make her brother the lead character from Persona Revelations, I just wanted to. Why? Because it's my story, that's why. Another thing. I already have this story all typed out and I'll post more of it if I know that people like it. That means reviews peoples, pretty please. But I ask, please, no flames. I don't mind constructive criticism but I will not tolerate flames. Besides, you're the ones who clicked on the pretty link to the story. It was your decision to read it, not mine. I just posted this for entertainment. And now, without further ado, on with the story.  
  
  
  
Four Days And Four Nights-The Zellbadian Version  
  
The world is dark. Clear your mind of what you're doing-of what you're feeling. Relax and let yourself slip into the world of enchantment. This is my story, told from my point of view, of course. It was the way that I had seen everything, hung in this musty chamber on the top floor of this mansion. I was haunted by eerie sounds and piercing screams. Do you know what it's like to be truly asleep? Free me...from this mansion.....  
  
  
  
This is what had sunk into the mind of Maya Amano for the last seven days. She sighed as she crumpled over on top of her desk. Her dark hair swept about her shoulders as she rested her forehead on her keyboard, imprinting a variety of random letters onto her screen.  
  
It had been seven long days since her brother's disappearance.  
  
She had remembered his wanting to visit that old mansion, despite her warnings. He was a journalist and he told her that it was a "journalist's instinct" to explore such a place. Who knew? Maybe this was their big break.  
  
Maya was a journalist, too, and editor, of Sumuru City's infamous magazine company, Coolest. Her brother just happened to be her partner in all of their big stories. But lately, Coolest ratings had been dropping and her brother said that they needed something juicy to bring it back on the charts. After he embarked on a journey to the haunted Himuro Mansion, Maya hadn't heard so much as a word from him.  
  
And now, she was scared.  
  
Her brother, Hero, had such a fascination with horror stories and ghost stories, so there was no changing his mind once it was set to explore Himuro Mansion.  
  
"It was where those unsolved murders took place," She breathed to herself as she closed her eyes. "That place is so ancient that it doesn't even appear on the map and no person dares to speak its name. Why would he want to venture there?" But she knew the answer to that.  
  
Just then, she noticed a shadowy figure hovering above her and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. There, stood a tall, handsome man about the age of twenty-five. He was dressed in a snazzy gray suit and he straightened his square, maroon colored glasses. His brown hair slicked to one side but his bangs playfully hung in his eyes. It was her long time friend and companion, Katsuya Suou.  
  
"You never keep in touch," The Detective of the Konan Police Department scolded gently as he crossed his arms and pretended to sound mad.  
  
"Sorry," She gave a half-hearted smile and rose to her feet, "Just been thinking lately."  
  
"About your brother again?" He asked her.  
  
Nodding, she reached down to pick up her book bag and started out the door with him behind her.  
  
"Yes. I'm just very worried about him. You've heard about those unsolved murders that happened there all those years ago. That house is so haunted, I don't see why ANY person in their right mind would travel there." Her eyes began to wander down the street.  
  
"Well, that's Hero for you." They stopped at a crosswalk. "He's always been so adamant about making it to the top."  
  
"Just didn't think that he'd risk so much..." She nearly muttered above audibility.  
  
"I had my men check around the Himuro area for him, but there have been no traces." Katsuya hoped to bring some faith back into Maya's lifeless eyes.  
  
"See? No one in their right mind would even venture directly into the house- not even the police." Seeing that his attempt to cheer Maya up had failed, Katsuya left it at that and walked her home in silence.  
  
Unbeknownst to the young woman, the Detective had had a long time crush on the editor, and vowed to do whatever he could to find her younger sibling. And after he had arrived at his own apartment and checked to see that his own younger brother was still at high school, he found an odd looking letter on the table.  
  
The envelope was a lavender color and smelled of sweet flowers. Curious as to see what could be inside, Katsuya tore open the envelope and pulled out a small letter from inside of it.  
  
  
  
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL  
  
CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.  
  
  
  
The letter was printed nicely in big block letters and Katsuya noticed some small writing at the bottom of the paper.  
  
YOU ARE 4 OUT OF 8  
  
Puzzled, Katsuya reread the letter several times, but still could not grasp it. Himuro Mansion? The same Himuro Mansion that Maya's brother had last ventured into before he became missing? The same Himuro Mansion where so many unsolved murders had taken place? Why in the world would there be a celebration there?  
  
"It's obviously a scandal, or perhaps a sick-minded individual's doing. Whatever the case, I am bound to find out. Anything to find Maya's brother." And to score points with Maya, he thought. This would be very interesting...  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, a young man about the age of twenty-one sat inside of his $16 million mansion located outside Sumuru City. Snuggling further into his leather recliner, he flipped through his 500 channels of pure goodness. He finally stopped on a channel that displayed a football team on screen-The LA Doggers to be exact.  
  
The young man slicked back his black hair and wiped his glasses with the blue scarf around his neck with the number "1" imprinted largely on the fabric. He unzipped his black leather jacket and pulled his dark gloves off of his wrist and tossed them down by his feet. It was great to be the heir of an entire estate and all of Japan's most important companies.  
  
"Alfred!" The young man called to his butler, not taking his eyes off of the TV screen. "I would like a cookie. Bring me one."  
  
An exasperated sigh was heard from the back and the old butler slowly walked into the Lounge.  
  
"Sir Nate, the refreshments are on the table over there." Alfred pointed across the room.  
  
"I know," Nate Nanjo replied, "but I don't feel like getting up."  
  
Sighing again, the poor old man trudged to the table and plucked a cookie from the top of the stack.  
  
"Laziness..." Alfred mumbled, "Sheer laziness. The boy is about to become president of all of his father's companies, and he can't grab a cookie off the table; a table that is less than TEN feet away from him..."  
  
The old man handed a cookie to the rich boy and turned to walk out the door when Nate's voice stopped him.  
  
"Has the mail come yet, Alfred?"  
  
"Yes, Sir Nate, shall I bring it to you as well?"  
  
"I would appreciate that, Alfred."  
  
Alfred shook his head in despair and retrieved the mail from the Grand Hall. He flipped through it, glancing at random letters. Bills, letters, advertisements, chain letters, jury duty.....but what was this?  
  
"It looks as though it is a very important letter..." Alfred noted to himself as he scanned the lavender colored letter. The envelope was scented, and that could only mean one thing. "It's an invitation to a party." Alfred put it back into the stack and handed the mail to Nate when he arrived back in the Lounge.  
  
"Thank you Alfred...but what is this?" The purple-tinted letter caught Nate's attention. "It has my name on it. Odd...."  
  
"It's just probably another letter inviting you to a dinner party." Alfred told him and walked back out of the room.  
  
"A party, huh?" Nate tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. "Don't they ever get tired of seeing my face?" He read the letter aloud and then became puzzled. He read it a second time.  
  
  
  
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.  
  
  
  
Scratching his head in thought, Nate began to fold the letter back up until small writing caught his eye down at the bottom of the page.  
  
  
  
YOU ARE 2 OUT OF 8  
  
  
  
"Himuro Mansion? Isn't that located at the bottom of Himuro Mountain? Is it that haunted mansion that no one ever talks about? Odd...why would a party be held there? Oh well, there's only one way to find out."  
  
  
  
In the country of Zellbadia, located 20 miles east of Sumaru City, seventeen-year-old Zell was busy looking out the window of his HUGE mansion as he filed his nails. His black tattoo of some design stood out brightly as the light above him hit it.  
  
Once, Zell Dincht had been nothing but a low-life living in the city of Balamb with his mother and a few friends. And though Zell had many friends, nothing could amount to the pain he had felt after they had saved the world from a near-death experience. All of his friends were rich and famous, only because they had saved the world at one point, but Zell had been forgotten. He was only a martial arts fanatic who had an obsession with hotdogs and nothing more.  
  
But Zell had struck oil while he was trying to bury 20 pounds of hotdogs in his backyard so his mother wouldn't find out that he had used up over half of them for his big cookout. And Zell had become immensely rich and had taken over the whole country of what used to be Galbadia. Zell had renamed every city after him and had changed every product by putting decals of himself on the labels. Ah yes, life was great.  
  
And his friend who had been a brother and leader in his eyes, the one who had been teacher's pet in the school that had specialized in eliminating sorceresses, called Garden, had declared bankruptcy and had been living in his tow truck ever since. Yes, his one friend, Squall Leonhart, had only managed to become president of his own towing business, "Squall and Rinoa's Towing Company" while Zell was out ruling the world. Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend.  
  
Zell had become the wealthiest man in the whole country of Galbadia.er, Zellbadia. He had it all, from Zelling City, to Zellsthar City. From the "Zell's Lunatic Pandora" to "Zell's Ragnorak" and "Zell's Garden-Zellamb Garden". And Zell loved every minute of being a bajillionaire.  
  
Zell was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his robot servant that had wheeled up behind him and held out some letters.  
  
"Here-is-today's-mail-Master-Zell." The robot dumped the letters onto Zell's lap and stood there for a moment.  
  
"Yes, what is it, Zellbot?" Zell asked, scanning through each letter carefully. "Is there something else? Wait, I KNOW there's something else because you are still here disgracing yourself in my sacred presence."  
  
"Forgive-me-sire-but-I-only-wanted-to-remind-you-about-your-meeting-with- Martine-sire." The robot said as he handed Zell a glass of lemonade with a little straw umbrella in the drink.  
  
"Oh yes, the old president of Galbadia Garden, AKA, Zellbadia Garden now..." Zell took the drink and sipped off of it diligently. "Well, if it's about buying Zellbadia Garden back from me, tell him not to bother. I will NOT give up my rightful land."  
  
The lavender colored envelope caught Zell's eyes as he looked through the large pile of mail.  
  
"Yes-Master-Zell. I-shall-see-that-he-is-executed-if-he-tries-to-waste-your- valuable-time. How-would-you-like-him-terminated?"  
  
"I never said I wanted him killed! I just want him off my back, that's all."  
  
"Yes-Your-Highness. I-will-see-to-that." The robot left in a hurry as Zell tore open the envelope and looked inside to read the letter.  
  
"Hmmm..." Zell said as he overlooked the letter quickly. "Probably another campaign to release all monsters from my 'Zell's Highly Expensive To Visit Zoo'. You know I hate it when they send me this garbage!" But two words caught Zell's attention. "What? Himuro Mansion?" Zell read the letter more thoroughly.  
  
  
  
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.  
  
  
  
Zell's face became confused as he reread the letter over and over again. Then he spotted something down at the bottom of the page.  
  
YOU ARE 5 OUT OF 8  
  
"What!? Only 5 out of 8? I should number one. And how can this be? Himuro Mansion, isn't that place haunted? Oh well, it will be another great opportunity to buy myself a summer resort. I'll just bomb the house to the ground and make "Zell's Dream House". Yes, that will only cost me a few million, but I'll still be rich. I must call my friends and tell them the good news!"  
  
Zell called Squall up on the Zellaphone and waited as it rang three times before a cranky voice picked up the phone.  
  
"What?" Answered the irritated voice of Squall Leonhart.  
  
"Squall!" Zell greeted, "How ya doing?"  
  
A short pause.  
  
"Zell!? Is this you!?" Squall screamed into the phone. Zell didn't seem to notice the anxiety in his seventeen-year old friend's voice.  
  
"So what have you been up to?" Zell smiled as he fingered the lavender paper.  
  
"What have I been up to? WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO!? Zell, you ruined my life! You took Garden from Headmaster Cid and then bought me out of my estate to Esthar! And you're asking what I've been up to!?" It then dawned on Zell that Squall's father, Laguna Loire, had been the president of Esthar and had left the entire estate in Squall's name. That is, before Zell took over Esthar and renamed it "Zellsthar".  
  
"Guess what?" Zell said, changing the subject.  
  
"What?" Squall's dejected voice came over the receiver.  
  
"I got this really cool letter inviting me to Himuro Mansion to a celebration." Zell felt pleased with himself. He knew that he'd be the only person in Zellbadia to receive such a letter. That soon changed.  
  
"So?" Squall said indifferently. "I got the same letter."  
  
Zell felt his whole world crumble and there was an awkward silence before Zell spoke again.  
  
"YOU!? SQUALL!? POORER-THAN-DIRT SQUALL!? IMPOSSIBLE!!! I'M THE RICH GUY, SO WHY SHOULD YOU GET A LETTER!?"  
  
"I don't know, but it invited me to the same thing and down at the bottom it said, "You are 7 out of 8", so there must be eight people attending this thing. Too bad you're one of them. And I wouldn't be poorer than dirt if a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, hadn't taken over the country and stole my estate and put my father back into the fishing business." Squall was referring to the fishing company in Balamb (or Zellamb) that his father now worked for.  
  
"Ah, put a cork in it, Squall!" Zell snapped, glowering at the phone. "They probably just sent it to you by mistake," He told him, more of trying to reassure himself than Squall, "and tomorrow morning they'll call and tell you just that."  
  
"Sure they will, Zell." Squall said with a bit of sarcasm. "Anyhow, I need to get going. Someone just paged me about a car that needs towing in front of a pizza building. See you Zell. Hopefully it won't be TOO soon..." And with those final words, Squall put down the phone and Zell soon followed after, fuming.  
  
"Him of all people!? Why him!? Why would HE receive a letter!?" Before Zell could think of any reasonable explanations for this situation, a knock came to the door.  
  
Zell stomped over to the door and swung it open. There stood the last person he had hoped to see-Seifer Almasy.  
  
"Well, greetings, Chickenwuss. Bet you didn't expect to see me, huh?" Chickenwuss was Seifer's nickname for Zell.  
  
The arrogant man flicked at his short, blonde, spiky hair (an indication that he was showing off, or trying to at least) as he walked past Zell. His light gray trench coat flowed in behind him and he turned around, tugging at his black leather gloves and dusting off his dark blue and white shirt and black pants.  
  
"What do you want, Seifer?" Zell was quick to get to the point. Seifer looked somewhat hurt by Zell's 'warm' welcome.  
  
"Why Zell, I thought that you'd be eager to see me again, after all that we had been through. I hope that all of this money hasn't gone to your head."  
  
"No, Seifer, I'm not giving you free tickets to go to Zell's Amusement Park."  
  
"Actually, I was going to show you something." Seifer dug deep into his pocket. "Seeing as YOU are the richest man in the whole country right now, I just wanted to see if you received one of these..." Seifer pulled out a lavender colored letter that had the same invitation on it as Zell had received. On the bottom it said, "YOU ARE 3 OUT OF 8".  
  
"Aww man! Not you too!" Zell slammed his fist into his forehead and Seifer's face became confused.  
  
  
  
Zack Terain finished his work for the day and headed home to his run-down house in the East Side of Midgar, 5 miles from Sumaru City. When he barged in through his door, he threw his brown leather boots in one corner, his metal arm plates in another, and jumped the side of his so-called 'couch'. Wiping the sweat from his face, Zack ran his fingers through his black porcupine-styled hair and sighed.  
  
Zack was a mercenary and worked for whatever money he could. It was tough being poor and living in a poor town, but Zack wasn't cut out for better paying jobs with higher industries. Actually, he had tried once, but it hadn't exactly worked out. Zack had once worked for Shin-ra, a very rich company, as a bodyguard. These bodyguards were apart of a military camp called SOLDIER, and Zack had been top rank, too. But the ex-member of SOLDIER felt that this type of lifestyle was not suitable for a guy like him and he wanted to do something a bit more ordinary, though being a mercenary was somewhat just as dangerous as SOLDIER had once been.  
  
He leaned across the couch to pick up what little mail he had gotten and a lavender colored letter caught his attention. Opening the letter carefully, he looked inside the letter and began to read.  
  
  
  
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.  
  
  
  
Confused, he continued to read until six small words caught his attention.  
  
YOU ARE 6 OUT OF 8  
  
What in the world did that mean? And wasn't Himuro Mansion haunted? There had been many unsolved murders that had taken place there, Zack had recalled, so why would there be any sort of celebration there?  
  
"Well," He said to himself, "This might just be the big break I needed. I do get tired of these small-fry jobs I've been receiving anyway. Maybe it's a mercenary request..." He grinned and tucked the letter into his dark purple pants. After all, he was still young, only twenty-four. He could manage a big job.  
  
  
  
"Maxwell! This is the LAST time that I trust you with my white Mercedes!!!" Milliardo Peacecraft gestured to his now mutilated car, and glowered at the young man in front of him.  
  
"Geez, Zechs, it was an accident! I didn't mean to crash your car into the McDonald's building, and can you blame a guy for being hungry?" The young man held his hands up in defense as he began to sweat uncontrollably. Milliardo could be very scary when he got mad.  
  
"That's why they have drive-through windows, Maxwell, if you're THAT hungry!" Milliardo sighed and sat down at his kitchen table.  
  
Fifteen-year-old Duo Maxwell followed after him, his long braided hair that ended at his thighs, tagging along behind. He rolled up the black sleeves of his shirt and wiped his sweaty palms on his black pants. Straightening the white collar of his white undershirt, he nervously tried to think of another excuse to calm his older friend.  
  
"It was packed, Zechs, and what are you suppose to do on such short notice?" 'Zechs' was Milliardo's name back in OZ and Duo thought that his old name sounded better than his real name. He stared at his ex-military friend, who leaned down to take a bite of his steak. His long white hair fell in front of his face and Milliardo pushed it back.  
  
"That's why you go to another fast food joint, Duo. We only have TWELVE other McDonalds in town."  
  
"...Can't argue with that." Duo mumbled and Milliardo's wife, Noin, came into the room, carrying a plate full of food.  
  
"Duo," Noin glanced at Duo as she set the food in front of her husband, "are you trying to give Milliardo another thing to be mad about?" Her short, dark blue hair covered her face. "You know that he just got out of GAMP last week." GAMP stood for 'Gundam Anger Management Program'.  
  
"Woah, woah! Are you bringing up that hair curler incident again?" Duo asked as Noin's eyes widen and she mouthed "no" to him.  
  
Milliardo stopped eating.  
  
"Duo...I suggest that you stop talking..." Noin said quietly to him. Duo didn't seem to hear her.  
  
"You know, when I hung that hair curler in the shower by accident and left it plugged in and then Zechs got into the shower and knocked the thing down and it electrocuted him and he was on life support for three months?" Noin slapped herself in the forehead as Zechs' face grew bright red with anger.  
  
"That...was...YOU WHO DID THAT!?" Zechs growled at Duo.  
  
"You never told him that I did that?" Duo asked Noin. She sighed and shook her head.  
  
"You nearly killed me, Maxwell! I still have a bald spot on my head where my hair fell out!" Zechs showed the spot on the back of his head to him. "You know how much I love my hair!" Zechs jumped out of his chair and got into a fighting stance. "Where's a rope!? I'm gonna strangle him!"  
  
"Now darling," Noin put a hand on his shoulder, "That's why we took GAMP. Remember what the counselor said, Milli. He said to remember the good times, like your stuff bunny Uncle Bubbles." Noin handed Milliardo a small stuffed bunny and he snatched it from her hands. "Now think of happy thoughts. What made you the happiest when you were a child?"  
  
"Well...there was the time when I had a rocking horse and..." Noin led him into the back room, leaving a dumbfounded Duo in the kitchen.  
  
"...I never knew that Zechs had a rocking horse. Oh well." Duo looked down at the table where three letters were sitting comfortably under a vase. A lavender colored envelope stood out the most and he slid it out from under the vase and opened it.  
  
  
  
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.  
  
  
  
At the bottom of the letter, he saw some small text. Bringing the letter closer to his face, he read it carefully.  
  
YOU ARE 1 OUT OF 8  
  
"Hmm...I've heard of this place. It's suppose to be haunted or something. I don't think Zechs would mind if I went instead of him. After all, I "AM" his best friend." Duo grinned and trotted out of Zechs' apartment.  
  
  
  
"MR. Vash! Just WHERE do you think that you are going?" Meryl Stryfe put her small hands on her hips and glowered at the man with long blonde spiky hair irritably.  
  
"Look Insurance Girl!" Vash flashed a flyer in front of the younger woman's face. She snatched it from his hands and read it over.  
  
"Part-time workers wanted for...NO, Vash, you are NOT working THERE!"  
  
"But it pays so much money and all you have to do is dance."  
  
"Did you even READ the bottom part?"  
  
Vash snatched the paper back from his younger companion and lowered his eyes to the bottom of the paper. "Please apply only if...yeah, yeah, yaddy- yaddah...WHAT!? Okay, I've changed my mind, I like being broke."  
  
"That's what I thought."  
  
Vash stood up from his chair in the bar, exposing his entire figure. He was a tall man in a long red trench coat with big black buttons down the middle. Pressed upon his nose were round yellow tinted glasses. Under his coat, he wore black body armor and black boots. He trotted out the doors, Meryl following behind.  
  
"Where are you going now?" She asked.  
  
"To find a job."  
  
"No one's going to hire you, in case you haven't noticed. Your reputation is."  
  
"All right, all right! I'll stay in the poorhouse, geez."  
  
Vash's eyes shifted to his left, where he spotted his friend, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, leaning against the wall of an abandoned building, smoking a cigarette.  
  
"Hey Priest Man!" Vash waved. "What'cha doing all the way over there!?"  
  
Wolfwood was a traveling priest, earning money for his orphanage located way out in the boonies.  
  
"Thinking."  
  
"About what?" Vash inquired.  
  
"Look at this," Wolfwood dug deep into his pocket and pulled out a lavender envelope.  
  
"What's that?" Meryl asked as she joined the party.  
  
"I found it," Wolfwood replied, "Laying on the desk in YOUR dorm," Wolfwood kept his eyes glued on Vash. "I don't know who sent it or what it's for, or HOW they EVEN found you, but it looks important."  
  
Vash took the envelope into his fingers and gently tore the top open. He removed the paper from inside and read it aloud.  
  
  
  
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.  
  
  
  
Vash paused, squinted, and then shook his head.  
  
"No way, I am NOT setting foot in that place."  
  
"What?" Wolfwood asked, "Why not? Surely a gunman with your experience shouldn't have any worries about going there."  
  
"Are you a moron!?" Vash sighed. "Himuro Mansion is HAUNTED. Do you know how many unnecessary deaths took place in there? If I was to trot in there that night, do you think that my gun would have any effect against a GHOST?"  
  
"Well..." Wolfwood laughed nervously. "Of COURSE I knew about that place.but."  
  
"But WHAT?" Meryl asked, catching on that he obviously no clue as to what he was talking about.  
  
"Um...The sky's blue." Wolfwood said quickly, catching his two companions off guard. Wolfwood looked at the letter and spotted unread text at the bottom. "Look Vash, it says that you're "8 out of 8", so there will, without a doubt, be more people there than just you."  
  
"..." Vash was not convinced. "WHY do you want me to go so bad?"  
  
"Because he's a desperate human with no mind or will," Vash turned and watched as his twin brother, Millions Knives, strolled down the dirt road. "Besides, haven't you heard of the forgotten treasures in that mansion?"  
  
"Treasures?" Vash and Meryl asked in unison.  
  
"Of course," Knives shrugged. "That mansion is so old, it's worth money alone on that. Also, they have expensive and rare antiques in that house, so it won't be TOO much of a waste if you decide to venture there."  
  
"Mr. Knives," Meryl protested, "That's not such a good idea..."  
  
"Well, the letter was sent to Vash," Knives pointed out. "So it really can't be all that haunted if they're inviting people to the mansion."  
  
"MAYBE it's a trap!" Meryl argued.  
  
"And what if it's not?" Wolfwood asked. "We won't know until Vash goes. Besides, weren't you just complain how you don't have any money anyway, Vash?"  
  
"Yeah...well..."  
  
"It'll be fine." Wolfwood assured.  
  
Vash scowled. "You just want the big bounty on my head if I die, that's all, Wolfwood."  
  
  
  
Well? Should I post the next chapter? Let me know!  
  
Parallel_Blue13115 


	2. You can never leave this house

Disclaimer: I still don't own Trigun, Gundam Wing, Final Fantasy VII or VIII, Persona, or Fatal Frame. I wish I did but I don't.  
  
Please R&R! I'd like to know if this story is good, sucks, or is just so boring that you'd rather take a math test. (Sob sob, I can't write) But be nice, please? Flames just make me feel all yucky inside.  
Nights passed, and the moon rose and fell. Finally, the night of terror came upon the eight guests invited to Himuro mansion. 10:39 soon became 10:40 after what seemed like hours of waiting. Katsuya stood down by the wooden path that led up to the house. He glanced down at his watch once more before he let out an exasperated sigh and looked down the dark dirt road that led to the mansion.  
  
Shadows covered the clearing as the moon rose up from behind the evergreen forest. The moon reflected its milky white beauty on Himuro Mansion, the haunted brown, wooden dorm and silence filled the area except for the crystal clear river flowing beneath the house's bridge. Up the slate stone steps that had cracked with age and in through the broken door led to cobwebs and time's misfortune upon the Entrance Room.  
  
Katsuya could see it now. The moment he opened the door, ghosts would be pouring themselves upon him and would steal his soul. Katsuya was not very optimistic.  
  
"Where is everyone else?" He asked himself as he pulled the purple scented letter from inside of his coat pocket. "According to this invitation, seven other people are supposed to arrive." Sighing, he began to walk the bridge up to the old mansion. "I knew it, it's probably all a trick. But if I can find Hero, then maybe it wasn't all for nothing....."  
  
He glanced down at his watch again. 10:43, he thought to himself, only two more minutes and I can go inside. Finally, he had reached the stone steps and the porch of the house. He hesitated, wondering if he should really go inside. Katsuya almost lost his nerve, and would HAVE if not for the obnoxious voices behind him.  
  
"Awww man! I am soooo hungry!" Katsuya turned to look at the man with the long braided hair-Duo Maxwell.  
  
Behind him were Zack Terain, Nate Nanjo, Vash, and Zell Dincht.  
  
Those were five of them, Katsuya thought, but where were the other two? Katsuya's questions soon were answered.  
  
"Injustice! Why should I, Seifer Almasy, have to be forced to wander out in this cold weather to attend a 'celebration' at this haunted house!?"  
  
"You can always turn around, Seifer." Katsuya looked at a young man with brown hair that fell into his face. He wore a black leather jacket, a white T-shirt, black leather pants, gloves, and boots. There were three belts looped loosely around his waist and three more around his left leg. Katsuya saw a large scar on the man's face near the bridge of his nose. To have so many belts, he must have trouble keeping his pants on.  
  
"What are you talking about, Squall?" Seifer argued. "Why, if 'I' wasn't here, who KNOWS the misfortune you could encounter. I am your good luck, Squall!"  
  
Squall rolled his eyes.  
  
"Sure you are Seifer."  
  
The seven men stopped by the porch and all looked at each other from head to toe.  
  
"So you guys must be the other guests invited." Nate observed. "My name is Nate Nanjo, heir to some of Japan's biggest industries. And you gentlemen are?"  
  
"I'm Squall Leonhart, president of "Squall and Rinoa's Towing Company"."  
  
"I just happen to be Seifer Almasy, the world's most coolest person and knight to Sorceress Edea, Adel, Ultimecia....."  
  
"Eh, that's enough Seifer." Zell gave Seifer a hard glare. "Anyway, my name is Zell Dincht, richest man in all Galbadia...er, Zellbadia."  
  
"I am Vash the Stampede...um, no need to ask about further details."  
  
"I'm Zack Terain, a mercenary over in Midgar." Zack shook Nate's hand and grinned.  
  
"I'm Duo Maxwell, and I piloted the Deathscythe in the war against OZ."  
  
"And I am Detective Katsuya Suou of Konan Police Department. Tell me, gentlemen, does anyone know about what's going on here?"  
  
The other seven shook their heads as Seifer continued to stare at himself in a hand mirror.  
  
"All I know is that the 'party' starts at 10:45, which is..." Duo glanced at his watch, "right now."  
  
As if on cue, the main door opened slowly, letting out an unhappy groan as it swung back, revealing an empty room with overturned tables and chairs. The group stared at each other for about a minute before Zack spoke up.  
  
"Should.....we go in?" He asked, already reaching for the hilt of his Buster Sword. After all, a mercenary was always prepared.  
  
"I think we should." Katsuya answered, reaching for his own revolver as well.  
  
The Detective slowly advanced through the door, his comrades following close behind.  
  
"Well, this isn't so bad..." Zell said, trying to reassure himself.  
  
"Hold on Zell, I'm not getting good vibes." Squall said, looking around cautiously.  
  
"Aw man, Squall," Zell shivered, "You just HAD to break my sense of courage!"  
  
Then, WHAM! The front door slammed shut behind them. The men spun around on their feet and Seifer dashed to the door and tugged on the door handle.  
  
"Oh great! It's locked!" He grunted over his shoulder as he pulled harder and harder.  
  
"I told Wolfwood that this was a bad idea!" Vash shrieked.  
  
"Okay, now I'm REALLY scared." Zell said and began to cling onto Squall for support. "I want to go home."  
  
"If this is somebody's idea of a practical joke, it's not funny." Nate said as he watched Seifer begin to kick the door.  
  
"This isn't a practical joke." Squall shook his head. "The house is so haunted that it's not even marked on the map anymore. No person is dumb enough to come here and try to fool us. If you even mentioned 'Himuro Mansion' to someone, they'd flip out and start hyperventilating or something."  
  
"Mr. Leonhart is correct," Katsuya agreed. "But that just leaves the question of who sent us these letters."  
  
Everyone stopped and looked at Seifer, who had started to ram his body into the door, shouting and screaming as he charged into the wood.  
  
"Seifer, that's not gonna open." Duo told him. "We're just gonna have to find another way out of here."  
  
"Ah! That's it! Break a window!" Seifer picked up an old rotting chair and ran across the room. "There's a window!" He pointed to a small window next to a changing screen and chucked the chair at the window. The chair merely bounced off the glass and Seifer crumpled to his knees. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" He sobbed and buried his head into his hands.  
  
"This is really bad." Vash shook his head.  
  
"Seifer's lost it." Squall sighed. "It's obviously a special kind of glass. It can't be broken that way."  
  
"The windows are probably all locked so we're gonna have to find another way out." Zack turned to look at Seifer and then spotted a door behind him. "Might as well explore this old mansion."  
  
"W-What?" Zell asked, teeth chattering. "You fool! This place is haunted! We'll get abducted by ghosts and taken to their ghostly lair and become experiments for one of their evil plans to take over the world!"  
  
"You moron," Squall hit him upside the head. "Ghosts don't abduct people, that's aliens. And besides, do you really believe in ghosts?"  
  
"Yes!" Zell wailed as he dug his face into Squall's jacket and Squall sighed.  
  
"Come on you big baby. There's nothing to be scared of." Squall's voice dropped to a whisper. "Geez, for a world dominator you sure are a wussy."  
  
"What was that?" Zell looked up, sniffling. "Did you say something?"  
  
"Let's go," Katsuya said, already at the door. "I don't want to stay here all night. I want to get out of here." He grabbed the doorknob and then turned around. "And if you see a young man named Hero, tell me."  
  
"Hey, isn't he that journalist that disappeared while exploring this place?" Duo asked.  
  
"Yes," Katsuya answered as he stepped through the door. "His sister believes that whatever happened to him was no accident."  
  
"I'll bet it wasn't. If he got locked in here like we did, then I'll bet dollars to donuts that something got to him."  
  
"Donuts?" Vash blinked. "Where?"  
  
The other seven stepped into the hallway and then looked down the hall.  
  
"It's too dark in here." Duo complained. "Someone turn on the lights."  
  
"There aren't any switches around here for us to do that. The only reason that we could see in the Entrance Room was because the moon's light hit the window. But I don't see any windows in here." Squall told him. This house has been empty for so long that I doubt the electricity still works."  
  
"Well," Zell stood up straight and confident. "Thanks to yours truly here, I just HAPPENED to bring a flashlight. See how great it is to be rich?"  
  
Zell turned on the flashlight and pointed it down the hall. There was an awkward silence as the eyes of the men widened in horror and they began to scream.  
  
"T.....THERE ARE ROPES IN HERE!!!" Seifer shouted as he backed up into a wall.  
  
"SCARY!" Vash's teeth chattered as he tripped backwards and landed on his rear.  
  
Ropes hung from the beams in the narrow hallway. Some swayed side to side, as though some sort of force was pushing them. At the end of the long hall was a large dress mirror old and stained with age.  
  
"What kind of nutty people lived here!?" Duo asked, staring at each rope that hung down from every beam on the ceiling.  
  
"What.....do you think that they used these for?" Nate asked to no one in particular as he helped Vash to his feet.  
  
"I.....don't think I want to know..." Squall said, tension residing in his voice.  
  
"Oh gross!" Everyone turned to look at Seifer who was examining a wall. "There are these red handprints all over the wall! If people were going to finger-paint, couldn't they have done it on PAPER? Why would they want to ruin these lovely walls? I swear, people have no common sense nowadays."  
  
"Um.....Mr. Almasy," Katsuya said, trying not to sound alarmed. "I don't think that those handprints are a result of finger-painting....."  
  
Seifer's eyes widened and he pointed a trembling finger to the wall.  
  
"You mean.....this is.....blood?" He asked, his knees weakening.  
  
At the mentioning of "blood", all but Katsuya nearly jumped out of their pants.  
  
"Blood!?" Vash looked as though his eyes were going to pop from his head. "Unnecessary blood? But...but..."  
  
"Okay, okay," Zell said, laughing, "Good one, Detective, but I don't believe in that stuff. Now just because there were some unsolved murders here, DOESN'T mean that those handprints are blood smears." Suddenly, the floor began to creak violently. "Then again.....I could be wrong....."  
  
"Let's just get out of here," Nate said, already starting down the Rope Hallway.  
  
"Wait," Katsuya stopped him in his tracks. "We should stick together in a group in case anything happens."  
  
"The cop's right," Seifer said in agreement, "I don't wanna wind up like that Hero dude."  
  
"We need to keep our eyes peeled for him," Vash commented. "He could still be alive."  
  
"True to that, Vash." Duo chewed on his bottom lip. "Let's continue down the hall."  
  
So the group slowly and cautiously made their way down the hall, Katsuya's hand on his revolver and Zack's hand on the hilt of his sword. Zell stayed in the back, swinging his flashlight at everything that moved. His teeth chattered in fear and he caught a shadow out of the corner of his eye. Without thinking, he swung the flashlight at the wall and began to scream.  
  
"TAKE THAT YOU EVIL GHOST! NO ONE IS GONNA TAKE ME ALIVE!" Zell pounded on the wall and then kicked it.  
  
"Zell, what are you doing!?" Squall hissed at him. "Stop swinging that flashlight around and screaming like a banshee!"  
  
"Squall! Didn't you see it!? It was a ghost!" Zell began to swing the flashlight back and forth in a rage. "Watch! I'll get it! I'm gonna scare it so bad that it'll HAVE to let us outta here!"  
  
Squall sighed and snatched the flashlight away from Zell.  
  
"Don't worry, if the big bad ghost tries to abduct you, I'll chase him away." Squall said mockingly.  
  
"You're being sarcastic, aren't you!?" Zell accused.  
  
Squall rolled his eyes.  
  
"C'mon, I told you before that there's no such thing as ghosts."  
  
"T-Then what's that, Mr. Leonhart.....?" Nate pointed to the mirror in front of them, trembling.  
  
"That's a...person?" Vash squinted to get a better look.  
  
There in the mirror were the reflections of the eight scared men and a man in a dirty white lab coat behind them. His long brown hair was tied into a ponytail and two long strands of dark hair covered his face.  
  
"Humans are so dense," The man said, sneering. "You should learn not to trust others so easily. It was your curiosity that led you here and now what will lead to your dismay!! Ha, ha, ha!"  
  
The group turned their heads, but the man was gone. All that was left was his laughter echoing in the background.  
  
"Who the heck was that!?" Zack asked, a mixture of anger and horror in his voice.  
  
"I'll bet that he's the one who locked us in here." Duo said, looking back at the mirror in front of him. It showed nothing but his friends' reflections.  
  
"But why? Why would he want to do that?" Vash questioned. His companions shrugged.  
  
"Now do you believe in ghosts, Squall?" Seifer asked, amused. "This is stupid. Why should we be scared of him? There's eight of us and one of him. We can handle that guy."  
  
"I wouldn't just say ONE of him, Mr. Almasy." Katsuya looked at the spot where the man had once stood.  
  
"Detective Suou is correct," Nate nodded. "If there were so many unsolved murders here, then what if the victims became lost souls as well?"  
  
There was a silence for about a moment when Duo spoke.  
  
"Maybe we should start looking for an exit tomorrow. There's no way we'll be able to find one in the dark and who knows how long that little flashlight is gonna hold out."  
  
"You fool," Seifer scowled, "THAT'S what that guy WANTS us to do! If we let down our guard, that'll give him the opportunity to unleash his minions on us."  
  
"Then let's split up into three groups and look for the exit. It'll be much quicker than just looking in one group." Duo said and looked around the room.  
  
There were two doors, however, one was boarded up, so that left the other door to explore.  
  
"If we do happen to find an exit, how do we contact each other, then?" Squall scratched his chin in thought.  
  
"Simple," Nate said, "I have a cell phone. If any of you other good people have one, we can give one to every group and contact each other that way."  
  
"I have one," Katsuya said, holding his up to show.  
  
"And I have the Zellaphone." Zell grinned. "Not a "cell phone", mind you, but a "Zellaphone."  
  
"Wait," Vash darted his eyes back and forth amongst the three. "Why don't we just call the cops? They could come here and bust us out."  
  
Nate, Katsuya, and Zell all stared at each other.  
  
"That's an excellent idea, Mr. Vash." Katsuya reached into his pocket and withdrew his cell phone. "I'll call." Katsuya dialed the number and paused. A moment later, he closed his phone and returned his gaze to his comrades, looking almost disappointed.  
  
"What is the matter Mr. Suou?" Nate asked, confused.  
  
"I can't get a signal." Katsuya replied. "Although it's possible to call around this mountain range, I can't get a signal anywhere off of it."  
  
"Wonderful," Seifer sighed. "Guess we're stuck in this hellhole until we find a way out."  
  
"Maybe it's the curse that the house holds over us," Vash suggested. "Why don't we exchange numbers and call each other now, just in case it doesn't work."  
  
So the three exchanged cell phone numbers and Katsuya volunteered to call Nate.  
  
"It works," Katsuya said as the phone began to rang. "Perhaps Vash is right. Perhaps it is only the curse that is holding us from calling off the mountain."  
  
"So let's just get into groups and start looking for a exit already," Seifer urged impatiently.  
  
"All right, there will be two groups of three and one group of two. So who's going with who?" Katsuya looked around. "Perhaps Mr. Dincht, Mr. Nanjo, and I should pick since we all have cell phones."  
  
"I would not mind the least if Mr. Leonhart and Mr. Vash would accompany me." Nate said.  
  
"Then I'll take Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Terain." Katsuya said, pointing to the two.  
  
Zell looked around.  
  
"What!? That means I get stuck with Seifer!?" Zell whined.  
  
"Hey, I'm not that happy either, Chickenwuss." Seifer crossed his arms over his chest and began to pout.  
  
"All right, all right!" Squall calmed the two and sighed, holding a finger to his forehead. "Let's just get to looking, okay? The sooner that we're out of this creepy mansion the better off we'll all be. Now let's designate the routes in which we'll all be taking."  
  
Duo slowly slipped into the next room and looked around.  
  
"Man, what is this place?" He marveled, looking around.  
  
The rest of his comrades appeared behind him and gazed at the musty room.  
  
"This must be the Fireplace Room." Nate wiped the dirt from his glasses and then looked up the staircase. "Hmmm.....There appears to be a staircase over there. How about my group and Mr. Suou's group goes to check out the upstairs. Mr. Dincht and Mr. Almasy can check down here."  
  
"Oh, gee thanks. You guys look up there while we stay down here. I mean, it doesn't matter if we get eaten by a ghost or anything....." Zell narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest.  
  
"Stop being so chicken," Seifer slapped him hard across the back, grinning. "As long as you're with me, you don't have anything to worry about."  
  
There was an awkward silence exchanged between the two.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Zack reassured them. "You two will be fine down here. If anything comes up, just give us a holler, okay?"  
  
"And we'll come running," Vash smiled.  
  
"And at least TRY to work together." Squall emphasized the word 'try'. "I know you two have heard the word 'teamwork' before."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, okay." Zell brushed him away with his hand.  
  
So the two watched as their six other comrades descended into the black darkness above. As soon as they were gone from sight, Seifer immediately began to speak.  
  
"Okay Chickenwuss, 'teamwork' means staying out of my way, got it?" Seifer turned from the rich blonde boy and began to search through desk drawers and cabinets.  
  
"Uh Seifer? I don't think you'll find an exit in a desk." Zell pointed out.  
  
"Be quiet! I know that, but I'm not looking for an exit." Seifer pulled out an old, faded piece of paper. "Don't you see? If we find something valuable in this house, we could prove that we actually came here and then we'll become millionaires. Well, you can't get any richer, so I'm not sharing any of my money with you."  
  
"Gee, thanks." Zell said sarcastically and began to overturn objects, looking for a way out.  
  
Guess I'm just gonna have to do this myself, he thought to himself, Seifer isn't gonna help. All he cares about is finding some meaningless piece of junk.  
  
Zell caught something out of the corner of his eye and looked up. There was an old and dusty Japanese changing screen. Zell was quickly inspired and pushed the changing screen to the side.  
  
There rested a wooden door, the hinges rusted with age. Zell grinned and carefully opened the door. Scrutinizing the area, he took notice that this had to be the Lamp Hallway, due to the many Japanese lamps that hung from the ceiling. The hall was long and dark and cobwebs covered the walls. If not for the lamps lighting up the hallway, then Zell wouldn't be able to see his hand in front of his face.  
  
"What are you doing, Dincht!?" Seifer shouted from the other room.  
  
"I think I found something! Come here quick!" Zell shouted over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of the beautifully designed lamps-though most were faded-and the brown oak walls. Whoever it was that had owned the mansion last had taken exceptionally wonderful care of it.  
  
"What is it?" Seifer asked, coming up behind him. He also took notice of the lovely lamps hanging in the hallway. "Wait, why are the lamps still lit? If no one's been here for decades, then why does it look like someone or something is still living in the premises?"  
  
Zell hadn't thought of that.  
  
"I don't know, let's find out. Maybe there's an exit....." Zell suggested.  
  
"Too bad that Squall has the flashlight. We need to find another one." Seifer started down the hall behind Zell and then they turned the corner, looking around the corner before they proceeded down the hall.  
  
"Look, there's a door here," Zell pointed to the door to the left of him, "and a room to the right of that. Where do you want to go first?"  
  
"You go and check the room down there," Seifer pushed Zell down the hall, "I'LL stay here."  
  
"All right, stop pushing! I'll go look since you're so scared. I can do some serious damage with these fists o' mine anyway....." Zell strolled down the hall until Seifer's voice stopped him.  
  
"Oh yes, you're going to practice martial arts on an nonliving creature. Didn't it ever occur to you that all you'll do is just punch RIGHT through them!?" Seifer snorted.  
  
Zell had just then lost a limb of courage.  
  
But nonetheless, Zell still continued down the hall, looking into the room at the right (which had nothing but a bookcase and some old documents on the ground, which Zell stuffed into his tuxedo) and then looked to see if anything was out of the ordinary. He turned to look back at Seifer.  
  
"No dice, Seifer, we have to check out the door you're next to." Zell walked back to his arrogant partner and then opened the door to the left of Seifer. He turned to look back at the blonde romancer. "Now it wouldn't take as long if you just....."  
  
As Zell turned around, he met the gruesome face of an undead ghost standing in the doorway. The pupils in his eyes had shrunk and made him look possessed. His clothes were torn to shreds and his skin was a pale blue color. Around his neck and wrists were rope burns.  
  
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" The two teenagers screamed and slammed the door into the ghost's face.  
  
"RUN AWAY!!!" Seifer screamed as he and Zell ran into the room with the bookcase at the end of the hall.  
  
They hid behind the bookshelf and listened as the floor creaked louder and louder until it had approached the room they were taking refugee in. Zell and Seifer tried hard not to breathe as sweat poured down their face. Their hearts pounded hard in their chest and seemed as though it were going to explode. Just then, the floor stopped creaking and they could've sworn that it was as though all life was standing still.  
  
"Do you think it's safe to come out?" Zell whispered to his older companion.  
  
"Shhh....." Seifer paused and then nodded. "I think he's gone. Whatever that was, he won't think of looking in here."  
  
Seifer poked his head around the bookshelf and met face to face with the ghost. His warm, foul breath stung the inside of Seifer's nose and made his stomach churn.  
  
"Help.....me....." The ghost wailed and reached out to grab Seifer, who easily dodged, and ran out of the room with Zell not far behind.  
  
"Where do we go!?" Zell called out to Seifer as he dashed down the hall.  
  
"In here!" Seifer pulled Zell into the door that they had tried to enter earlier. Seifer pushed the door shut and locked it.  
  
"Let me out.....Let me out of this mansion....." They heard the ghost moan through the door.  
  
"We have to hide or he'll find us, Seifer!" Zell breathed and watched as the handle began to jiggle back and forth.  
  
Seifer walked through the room and looked around. He then caught sight of a closet behind some changing screens.  
  
"In the closet," he hissed to Zell.  
  
They scrambled behind the screen and into the closet just as the door busted open.  
  
"A woman in a white kimono....." The ghost wailed as he wandered the room.  
  
Seifer watched the pale man through a crack in the closet and he shifted uneasily and tried to hold his breath. The ghost edged towards the closet door, but as though he were giving up, he disappeared.  
  
".....He's gone....." Seifer breathed a sigh of relief. ".....For now....."  
  
"Hey Seifer," Zell whispered, "could you remove your arm from my back please?"  
  
Seifer's face went blank.  
  
"What are you talking about? I wouldn't even shake hands with you if you paid me."  
  
"So.....if it's not your hand that's on my back, then....." Zell turned to face Seifer, and a look of horror was planted upon his face, "whose is it?"  
  
Something hard suddenly fell on Zell's back and the two looked over to their left of the closet and Zell nearly screamed. There, resting on top of his shoulder, was the form of a body and two gleaming eyes that peered up at him.  
  
"Oh cripes!" Seifer screamed as he pushed himself out of the closet, nearly breaking down the door, as Zell tripped and fell onto Seifer.  
  
They became a tangled mess as they struggled to get off the floor and Zell turned to look into the closet and he froze.  
  
"It.....It's a body....." Zell's bottom lip quivered as he pointed to the lifeless body in the closet.  
  
"Look, it's the body of the ghost that was chasing us....." Seifer pointed out and finally managed to stand up.  
  
But before Seifer could get a closer look at the body that rested there, it disappeared, just like the ghost before.  
  
"W-What's that underneath it?" Zell asked, glancing at a small metal box in the closet.  
  
"It looks like a.....tape recorder....." Seifer leaned down to pick it up. "There's a tape in it already, so I wonder if it still works....." Slowly bringing his fingers up to reach the top of the tape recorder, he hit the play button and waited...  
Parallel_Blue13115 


	3. Time ticks on that tall wooden clock

Disclaimer: Don't own Fatal Frame, FF 7 and 8, Persona, Trigun, etc.  
Katsuya, Zack, and Duo had split up from Nate, Vash, and Squall at the top of the stairs. Katsuya's party headed through the door on the right and Nate's party headed for the room north of the stairs.  
  
Katsuya's party came to the Tatami Room, where lamps greeted them brightly and a wooden table in the middle of the room beckoned them to come and sit down. The room was in disarray and dust blanketed boxes and furniture.  
  
There was a door to the right of where they stood, a hall to the far upper left of the room, and a hidden door behind a changing screen that Zack had discovered.  
  
"I'll check the door to the right," Katsuya told his crew. "Mr. Terain, you and Mr. Maxwell check the door behind the changing screen. We'll wait to walk down the hall."  
  
Zack watched the Detective slowly advance into the room and he nudged Duo and made his way to the door that had been hidden behind the changing screen.  
  
"Will Katsuya be okay by himself in there? What if a ghost gets him?" Duo asked Zack in a whisper.  
  
"Shhh! Don't talk like that, I'm already creeped out enough as it is!" Zack brushed ahead of his younger companion and pulled open the colorfully designed white doors and held his Buster Sword close to his face.  
  
His breath became heavy and began to fog the steel on his sword. Counting slowly to three, he jumped through the door and looked around.  
  
"Zack, it's a balcony..." Duo gazed outside and was then struck with an idea. "That's it! We'll climb down and escape!"  
  
"That's actually a good idea...but just one problem..." Zack looked down over the balcony side and turned to look back at his companion.  
  
"What is it?" Duo asked, confused.  
  
"There's absolutely NOTHING we can grab on to and climb down with."  
  
Duo followed his gaze over the balcony. Zack was right.  
  
"So, what if we climb onto the roof?" Duo suggested next.  
  
"That's impossible. The roof was made so that it slopes really steep towards us. We'd die trying to climb onto that. And there's nothing to even attach any ropes on, so that's DEFINITELY out of the question."  
  
"So what do you wanna do, jump?" Duo sighed and realized that there was still no escape.  
  
"Ch, yeah right, and break my neck? We're at LEAST fifteen to twenty feet up. I can't land that..." Zack turned to walk back inside. "We'll just keep looking. Let's see what the Detective found..."  
  
As he finished his sentence, Katsuya came walking back through the door.  
  
"So, what did you find?" Duo asked.  
  
Katsuya shook his head.  
  
"Nothing, except this..." Katsuya held out a tape with a red label on it. "Not that this is going to help much as we don't have a tape player. However, the next room, or the Anteroom as I should call it, had nothing more except a few dresser drawers and some expensive Japanese Dolls. What did you find?"  
  
"A balcony," Zack pointed in the direction of the door they had just exited, "except there was no way down from there."  
  
Katsuya sighed.  
  
"Let us keep looking then. The hall is the last resort."  
  
His teammates nodded and they turned to enter down the Walkway.  
"Dead end..." Squall noted to himself and looked down to where the floor dropped to the floor below them---which was quite a ways down, nonetheless. "Unless, of course, you want to jump to the next floor."  
  
"I'll pass." Nate scratched his chin in thought.  
  
"Me too," Vash agreed.  
  
"Hmmm, the room must have collapsed here, though there is no indication that there was ever a room here........." Nate peered down into the hole.  
  
"Then why would they have bothered building this room?" Squall asked.  
  
"Maybe it was a trap for burglars........." Vash looked down at the room below them. The room was bare except for the wooden walls and floor. However, it looked as though the room led to another hallway.  
  
"I feel sorry for the person who forgot that this hole was here and fell into it." Squall shook his head. "So where do we go now?"  
  
"Perhaps we should see what Mr. Dincht and Mr. Almasy have discovered. If it appears to be nothing, then we follow Mr. Suou." Nate told him.  
  
"Sounds reasonable enough. I just hope that Zell and Seifer haven't already killed each other yet........." Squall smirked and followed Nate and Vash back out of the room.  
".........the mansion was nowhere to be found and was not marked on the map. Finally, we had to stop and ask the local townspeople for help. They told us how to get here but the same people also warned us not to come here, which was very disconcerting........."  
  
Seifer shut off the tape and was silent for a moment.  
  
"That was.........very disturbing........." Zell finally spoke.  
  
"This was back in September of 1986. Think of how old this tape is........." Seifer tucked the recorder into his coat and looked at Zell. "All right, we've had our fun, couldn't find anything, and now I say we find Squall and the others. I'll bet that they're very scared without me there to protect them."  
  
"Sure, Seifer, that's why WE almost didn't make it away from that ghost. Were you acting out your "protection skills" or were you just lazy?"  
  
"Be quiet! I was merely caught off guard, that's all. Besides, he's gone now, isn't he? Let's get going." Seifer turned for the door from which they came when Zell stopped him.  
  
"Wait Seifer, there's a door over there........." Zell pointed to another door across the room.  
  
"I don't know if I'm willing to go into an unexplored room yet." Seifer said slowly.  
  
"Come on, you said yourself that you dispatched that ghost, so what's there to be afraid of?" Zell twisted the doorknob and entered.  
  
"Did I say that? Uh, I mean, well there may be other ghosts in this mansion as well. You know that there was just more than one unsolved murder here, right?" Seifer followed Zell through the door.  
  
"Hey, look at all the kimonos in here!" Zell marveled as he reached into a trunk in the left-hand corner of the room and pulled out a blue kimono.  
  
"Okay, so we'll call it the 'Kimono Room'." Seifer shrugged and walked into the center of the room. "Well, there doesn't seem to be anything here..."  
  
Seifer edged further to the window and put a hand up to it. Unfortunately, it was made from the same material at the Entrance of the Grand Hall. Then he saw something glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Bending down to pick up the object, he realized that it was an old camera-a VERY old camera.  
  
"Man, these kimonos are just so kewl!" Zell squealed as he gathered them all into his arms. "Being in this mansion is just like going on a shopping spree!"  
  
Seifer sighed, annoyed.  
  
"Would you just forget about the stupid pieces of cloth for a moment and come here? I found a camera under some clothes." Seifer fingered the camera gently and held it up to his eye.  
  
"Kimonos," Zell corrected. "And what's so neat about a camera anyway? I have like 50 cameras and you can hook them up to these things that we now call 'the computer', Seifer."  
  
Ignoring his companion's sarcastic remarks, Seifer continued to stare through the lens of the camera and then stood up, moved around in a circle, and stopped.  
  
"Wonder how old this thing is, or even if it still works..." Seifer turned around, still looking through the camera, and met face to face with the same ghost from earlier. "AAAHHHH!!!"  
  
Seifer fell onto his bottom and the camera bounced out of his hands and landed on the floor behind him.  
  
"The ropes...the ropes..." The ghost mumbled over and over again as he crouched over Seifer.  
  
"Ah...ah..." Seifer whimpered as he crawled away from the ghost. "Zell! Get over here and help me!"  
  
"Oh all right!" Zell shouted, irritated, and dropped the kimonos in his arms. He turned around and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the ghost. "Oh.........my........." But he could not finish his sentence.  
  
"Do something! Do something!" Seifer urged to his rich friend as he backed himself into the corner, trying to avoid the undead man.  
  
Without thinking, Zell picked up the camera and snapped a picture of the ghost. Seifer looked at Zell with a face that read, 'Are you an idiot!? What's the camera gonna do to him!?'  
  
"Hang on, I'm doing something," Zell told the blond narcissist as he snapped another photo of the ghost.  
  
"Zell! Stop fooling around!" But a surprise came to Seifer-the camera was sucking the ghost into it each time Zell took a picture. "Never mind! Keep taking pictures!"  
  
Zell circled around the ghost, snapping pictures here and there, and finally the ghost was snapped into oblivion. Satisfied with his work, Zell grinned and blew the 'imaginary' smoke from the lens of the camera.  
  
"Now that's one way to get a ghost to say 'cheese'........." Zell helped Seifer to his feet and looked at him, haughtily. "No need to thank me, I'll just put it on your tab."  
  
As Zell turned his back, Seifer made mock faces at the rich boy.  
  
"What's all the commotion!?" Suddenly, Nate, Vash, and Squall crashed into the room, panting from a loss of breath. "We heard screaming and came as fast as we could. Why didn't you use the cell phone if you were in trouble?" Nate leaned over and took a deep breath.  
  
Zell made a move to talk, but Seifer pushed him out of the way and proceeded to tell the story, altered, of course.  
  
"Well, we were exploring these rooms, and then this ghost began to chase us. Well, I found a camera and saved poor Zell with it just before the ghost could kill him. This camera has the power to capture ghosts! Why, if I hadn't of found this camera, Zell would've been toast. But since I'm Zell's friend, I won't put it on his tab until AFTER we get outta here." Squall noticed that Seifer seemed to emphasize the fact that it was HIM who had saved the day. Typical Seifer.  
  
Zell glared at Seifer, but said nothing. Instead, he pulled out the documents he had found earlier in the Hallway and showed them to his comrades.  
  
"Look, they're diary entries or something. I'm assuming that they were written a long time ago because they were heavily covered with dust when I found them. Anyway, a guy named Ryozo Munakata wrote these notes. Apparently, he moved his family into this mansion when he was doing some research here."  
  
"Well, are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna read them to us?" Squall asked impatiently.  
  
"All right, all right, geez! Hold your horses, I was just getting there." Zell shuffled the papers together and read the notes aloud. "They say: 'May 20th. Today, we moved into Himuro Mansion. I say 'we' as in my wife, Yae, and daughter, Mikoto and myself. My reason for coming to this haunted mansion is to find lost records of the Himuro Family and publish them in an article I wish to do. I will write down any facts that I might find during my research.'" Zell flipped the paper over and then read the next entry. "'May 22nd. The mysteries about this mansion still remain shrouded, but this is as much as I know. Himuro Mansion was once the home of a large landowner that controlled large amounts of land in this area. This house held a special significance that involved the Shinto Rituals of this region. However, I'm not quite certain what the "Shinto Rituals" are, yet.  
  
The last master of the Himuro Family went insane and murdered his entire family and then killed himself. As time passed, this house was no longer marked on any map and any records about this mansion were lost.  
  
I did learn that this mansion was originally a shrine that performed the same Shinto Rituals that the Himuro Family used to. I wonder what the rituals could be.........?  
  
My theory is that if I find out what these rituals mean, maybe I can solve the mysteries of the Rope Shrine Maiden, The Holy Mirror, and the Calamity.'"  
  
"Rope Shrine Maiden, Holy Mirror, Calamity? What does all that mean?" Vash asked as Squall snatched the notes from Zell and began to look through them.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Zell reached back for the notes, but Squall held them high above his reach.  
  
"I want to read them now," Squall told Zell bluntly as he flipped the paper over and read the next entry. "'May 25th. Mikoto found a strange camera the other day and said that a girl in a white kimono gave it to her. Before I could ask anymore, she told me she was going to play Demon Tag with her friends. This evening when Yae had the camera, she was taking pictures and mumbling something like 'I can see them. There are other people here besides us.' I tried asking what she was talking about, but she wouldn't say anymore. It was as if she was in some sort of trance.........'"  
  
"That must be this camera that I found," Seifer gestured to the old camera in his hands. "I mean, it DID capture that ghost that tried to attack me, I mean, Zell."  
  
Zell rolled his eyes and motioned Squall to keep reading. Squall looked at another piece of paper and continued to read.  
  
"'May 26th. Aside from the weird things that have been happening in this mansion, I have succeeded in finding some more notes. The first Shinto Ritual I could find information about is called the Strangling Ritual.  
  
Apparently, this is a curse that was used to keep the Gates Of Hell from opening. Rope Shrine Maidens from the past had been killed this way. When they had come of age, they would be strangled and their limbs would be tied along with the ropes to seal off Hell's Gate. Nowadays it is rumored that the same curse laid upon the Rope Shrine Maidens will happen to anyone who enters the house.  
  
Now if only I could find some more information about the purposes of the other rituals, then my research would be complete.'"  
  
"Woah.........that was freaky........." Zell blinked a few times and wiped the sweat from his forehead.  
  
"So.........the legends WERE true........." Nate turned to look at the camera Seifer was holding so diligently. "And that camera has to have been the one that the folklorist's daughter found---or had claimed that it had been a gift."  
  
"So........." Seifer observed the lens of the camera, as he had remembered that that was where the ghost had been sucked into. "I wonder how the camera can capture ghosts........."  
  
But this thought was not dwelled upon for very long as another thing came to Nate's mind.  
  
"Wait! Did those notes say that the Strangling Ritual curses its victims?" Squall nodded and Nate almost toppled over. "The Masters of this house are the one who perform these rituals on the Rope Shrine Maidens and the last maiden was killed by the same ritual she performs!"  
  
"Wait, how do you know that the Rope Shrine Maiden is the one who kills her victims by the same ritual that was performed on her? I thought that the Masters of the house previously were the only ones who could do that." Vash asked.  
  
"She can too," Nate corrected, "not just the Masters. Obviously, the last Rope Shrine Maiden is still alive. I figured that out because the Strangling Rituals were done with ropes and the Masters of this house previously were the ones who performed them on the Rope Shrine Maidens. If the ritual was meant to keep the Gates of Hell from opening, then not just ANYBODY can participate in that ritual, it has to be a chosen one. Besides, look at this document I found while Squall was flipping through the folklorist's diary. It fell on the ground and I picked it up while no one was looking."  
  
Nate handed the piece of paper to Squall, who took it and read it aloud.  
  
"'The Strangling Ritual--On the 13th day of the 12th month, a maiden, cut off from the outside world for 3669 long days, shall be torn apart to provide power to the rope. This ritual takes five days to complete.'"  
  
"Wait," Seifer held his head and looked at Nate, dumbfounded. "What the heck are you getting at, Nanjo?"  
  
"I'm saying that if the Rope Maiden was killed for the Shinto purposes, then she never dies. Not until her mission is completed, anyway. Therefore, she will keep performing these rituals until the Gates of Hell have been sealed."  
  
"And how do you know that they haven't been sealed already?" Zell asked, folding his arms over his chest.  
  
"First of all, that man in the hall told us that we could never leave and our curiosity would lead to the deaths of us all. Obviously, these spirits have not been put to rest and if that Rope Shrine Maiden is still around, then she will be what the man in white called 'our dismay'."  
  
A light flickered in Vash's head as he soon realized what the heir to the Nanjo Industries had been saying all along.  
  
"Wait, you're telling us that because she is not at rest, she will continue to perform these rituals until what she set out to do has been completed?" Nate nodded and Vash's face paled. "That means.........she could be after us too!"  
  
Zell and Seifer both froze as soon as they realized what was going on.  
  
"Are you saying that she's gonna kill us too!?" Zell's face scrunched up and he began to whine hysterically. "I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!!!"  
  
"Calm down, Mr. Dincht," Nate swallowed and took a deep breath. "Listen, all we have to do is get out of here within four nights and we'll be fine. In fact, I don't even think that this ritual is much of a threat to us. We don't have a maiden and.........uh.........Mr. Leonhart, what is the date?"  
  
"December 10th........." Squall said slowly and then looked down at the paper in his hands. "Which, unfortunately for us, is only a few days away until another maiden will be chosen to complete this ritual."  
  
Zell collapsed to the floor, crying, while the other three began to panic.  
  
"I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE! WAAAAAAH!!" Zell pounded on the floor and began to suck his thumb.  
  
Nate pulled himself together and brought attention to himself with a whistle from his mouth.  
  
"All right, so obviously this wasn't the best day to come to Himuro Mansion. However, we don't have a maiden with us, so the ritual cannot be completed."  
  
"But they're gonna kill us anyway, regardless of whether or not we're maidens!" Seifer pointed out.  
  
"Well.........that's true.........but we still have four days, and I'm certain that we haven't been cursed yet because we haven't been attacked by ghosts. Or.........is there something you good people aren't telling me.........?"  
  
Zell began to swat through the air and pushed Seifer in front of him, using him as a human shield.  
  
"Hey Dincht! Knock it off! There aren't any ghosts on you!" Seifer elbowed Zell in the stomach and Zell crumpled to the floor, at a loss of breath.  
  
"I don't think any of us have been attacked by the Rope Shrine Maiden, but what about........." Squall paused in mid-sentence and dashed out the door.  
  
"What's his problem?" Seifer asked.  
  
Nate's face seemed to be lost in thought for a moment when it suddenly widened in horror.  
  
"Mr. Suou, Maxwell, and Terain are all in trouble! We must find them and warn them of these dangers!"  
  
"Wait!" Vash jumped in front of his companions. "We can't let Squall run off by himself!"  
  
"He's right!" Zell said. "We have to follow him."  
Squall dashed through the Lamp Hallway and up the stairs.  
  
"Duo! Zack! Katsuya! Are you here!?" Squall panted heavily and looked around.  
  
"Mr. Leonhart!" Came Nate's voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Could you please wait for us!?"  
  
Squall ignored his comrade's request and rushed into the Tatami Room. Again, there was nothing.  
  
"Where are you guys?" Squall mumbled under his breath and a door to the right of him caught his attention.  
  
Swinging the door open, he called out for his comrades, but saw no one. Spinning around on one foot, Squall dashed through the hallway in the upper left part of the room and down the stairs.  
  
"Hey! Squall!" Zell's voice echoed through the room but Squall kept proceeding through the hall.  
  
Squall's attention was directed to a shadow lurking around the corner as he reached the bottom of the stairs. The shadow moved farther and farther away from Squall and Squall began to pursue it.  
  
"Hey, guys! Wait, there's something you should kno---" Squall stopped dead in his tracks as a head peeked around the corner at him.  
  
The man's skin was a grayish color and a long lock of black stringy hair covered the man's eyes. The man grinned, exposing that most of his teeth were gone and the ones left had rotted away.  
  
"My.........children........." The man muttered.  
  
"Uh.........Excuse me, sir.........wait, are you still alive?" Squall began to back away more and more as he realized that he had just come face to face with a real ghost.  
  
Maybe leaving his friends behind wasn't such a good idea after all.........  
  
"Give me.........my children........." The man jumped out from behind the corner and exposed his full attire.  
  
His chest was bare and bony, as if he hadn't eaten in months, no, make that YEARS. His dull blue pants had been torn and shredded and his bare feet moved heavily across the floor. But the one thing that absolutely scared Squall out of his mind was the fact that the ghost's arms were longer than his whole body.  
  
"Heh.........nice ghost.........you don't wanna kill me........." Squall tried to coax the ghost, but it failed miserably.  
  
"My children.........my children........." The ghost moaned and slowly made his way towards Squall.  
  
Squall began to sweat and he was breathing so heavily it hurt his chest. But to Squall's surprise the ghost abruptly vanished.  
  
"Huh?" Squall turned around to look then back in front. The ghost was nowhere to be seen. "That's odd, where did he go?"  
  
Squall then realized that he really didn't want to know, and he decided to find his friends before the ghost pulled a sneak attack on him. However, as he rounded the corner, two long hands reached out and grabbed Squall from behind.  
  
"My long lost children! Where have you gone?" The ghost clutched Squall tighter and tighter, cutting off Squall's supply of oxygen.  
  
Squall's eyes slowly began to close as he felt his life being sucked out of him. This ghost was trying to pull him into the underworld!  
  
"Let.........me........." But Squall couldn't finish.  
  
It was as if he had entered a 1948 black and white movie. The color had been drained out of the walls of the house, the ghosts, even himself.  
  
"Hey ghosty, it's time for a Kodiak Moment!" Squall watched as Zell brought the camera up to his eyes and snapped a photo of the ghost.  
  
The ghost howled with excruciating pain as its soul was sucked into the camera. Around and around Zell circled the ghost, taking pictures here and there and soon nothing was left of the man with the long arms.  
  
Squall collapsed to the ground, exhausted and out of breath. He lay there for a few minutes, trying to regain the colors back into his eyes.  
  
"See Squall? None of that would have ever happened if you hadn't of ran off and tried to be the knight in shining armor. Only one man can claimed that title, and that's me!"  
  
Seifer made his way onto the scene and Squall watched as Seifer pulled Squall to his feet and laughed in his face.  
  
"Thanks, Seifer, I really need to be belittled right now, especially since I feel so stupid and all........." Squall held his head in his hands and moaned. "Those ghosts have the power to suck the life outta you."  
  
"Of course they do," Nate looked directly at Squall as he spoke. "They are undead creatures and want to punish all that are still living. So, they try to pull the living into the undead, with them. You should be lucky that we arrived when we did."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I am. Thanks. But we have no time to stand here and make remarks about what just happened. We have to find Katsuya's group."  
  
"He's right. We need to find their group." Vash agreed and looked at all the doors in the hallway. "Now, which way could they have gone?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm not their keeper." Zell shrugged and began to open doors at random until Seifer pulled him back.  
  
"Don't do that! Who knows if another one of those.........GHOST thingys will jump out and eat us alive!"  
  
"Don't worry," Zell reassured, "I have my trusty camera."  
  
"Yeah, but HOW much film do you have left?" Seifer narrowed his eyes and Zell's mouth clamped shut. "That's what I thought........."  
  
"Well, let's start here," Nate opened a door and peered inside.  
  
"Hideous........." Squall remarked as he saw a table full of lit candles.  
  
"This must be their Burial Room," Nate pointed out. "Look at all the different scrolls in this room."  
  
"Now I'm just curious," Vash came up behind the two. "but.........is this WHERE the Shinto Rituals took place?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Nate answered honestly, "but we just might find out."  
  
"Katsuya! Hey, you guys in here!?" Seifer looked around and spotted a door in the corner of the room. "Hey, hey, look." Seifer pointed to the door and walked over to it.  
  
"There's another door over on the right here too." Squall pointed out. "I wonder which way they went........."  
  
"Well, I'll check out this door." Seifer volunteered.  
  
Seifer pulled the door open and he heard an ear-piercing scream. His eyes widened as a woman with bloody eyes dashed towards him and Seifer slammed the door shut and leaned against it, his arms outstretched on both sides.  
  
"Then again," He breathed, "maybe not."  
  
"Hey.........HEY! Is someone out there!?" Came a muffled cry from inside the door Seifer just shut.  
  
"Shh! I can hear someone from inside!" Nate shushed his friends and crept up next to the door that Seifer was leaning against. "Who is it?" He called back to the voice.  
  
"It's Zack! Zack Terain! Oh man, you guys gotta help me outta here! There are so many ghosts in here, it's not even funny!"  
  
"Then why would we wanna open the door...?" Squall folded his arms over his chest.  
  
"It's Zack, we have to help him," Nate reached for the doorknob, but Seifer held him back.  
  
"Don't be stupid, rich boy! How can we really trust that it's that Zack guy? For all we know, it could be another ghost out to steal our souls!" Seifer narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't believe him."  
  
"But what if it is?" Vash diverted his attention to Squall.  
  
"For once," Squall said, walking up behind Nate and Seifer, "Seifer's right. We DON'T know. So, we're gonna give him a little test." Squall cleared his throat and spoke up louder.  
  
"Mr. Terain, IF that's what your real name is........."  
  
"ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR!?" The voice shouted back, obviously insulted by Squall's somewhat accusing remark.  
  
"Hey, we just need to really know if it's you. What if we just open up this door and you're really a ghost?" Squall said.  
  
"Well how do I know that you guys aren't ghosts yourselves? But you don't see me being all untrusting and stuff!" Zack retorted.  
  
Dead silence, then.........  
  
"He's got a point there, Squall." Zell pointed out, coming up behind his four comrades.  
  
"I'm seeing that, Zell........." Squall hissed irritably and then cleared his throat again. "Well, how do we know you aren't a ghost!?" Squall shot back, obviously not the best comeback someone could think of, but Squall was mad and he didn't have the time to think up anything creative off the top of his head.  
  
"Well how do I KNOW you aren't a ghost!?" Zack shouted back.  
  
"Nice one, Squall. I think you already pointed that out to him. Now he wants to know if we're really ghos--" Seifer was cut off.  
  
"I KNOW that Seifer!" Squall growled at him. "JUST.........give me a moment to think." Squall sighed and then looked up. "All right! Here is the question that will most determine if you are the real Zack or not."  
  
"Ask away!" Zack said, anticipating the question.  
  
"What color.........is the sky?" Squall asked and received four confused looks from his comrades.  
  
"The sky? THE SKY!?" Seifer slapped his forehead. "What KIND of question is that!?"  
  
"Hey, ghosts are colorblind, they don't know what color the sky is........." Squall shrugged. "I mean, they're dead and stuff, they don't know any better."  
  
"And please, pray tell, tell us WHERE you learned that ghosts are colorblind!" Nate slapped the teen upside the head and Squall went crashing to the ground.  
  
"Hey! Ghosts can be colorblind! .........Or was that dogs.........?" Squall looked off, pondering.  
  
"And WHAT makes you think that THIS ghost is colorblind!?" Vash stomped his foot and scowled.  
  
"The sky's blue, though I have absolutely NO idea what that has to do with anything whatsoever." A sigh could be heard from inside the room. "You could've just asked me what my occupation was or where I lived, you know, things like that?"  
  
"Fine, what's your occupation?" Seifer asked.  
  
"Ex-member of SOLDIER and now a mercenary in Midgar." Zack answered proudly.  
  
"Wait, that's not good enough." Zell shouted through the door. "I still don't trust you."  
  
An exasperated sigh and then.........  
  
"Then WHAT would convince you?"  
  
"What is the best place in the whole wide world?" Zell asked, gleaming.  
  
"Oh, I don't know!" Came the impatient reply. "Why should I care what the best place in the world is!?"  
  
Zell's face dropped and he pointed a finger at the door.  
  
"That is NOT Zack! The REAL Zack would've said Zellbadia!"  
  
"Oh for crying out loud........." Nate rolled his eyes and opened the door, causing his four other companions, who had been leaning against the door, to crash inside and on top of each other.  
  
"It's about time!" Zack's figure came into view and he sighed and collapsed to his knees. "Do you guys know HOW LONG I've been stashed in here!?"  
  
"Hey, he wasn't lying.........He really is Zack!" Zell said.  
  
Zack rolled his eyes.  
  
"Of COURSE I'm the real Zack! Who'd you think I was? Wait, don't answer that."  
  
"Mr. Terain, how on earth did you come to get locked inside of here?" Nate asked.  
  
"Well, it wasn't anything I did. It was what Duo did."  
  
"Oh no, I knew that kid was trouble........." Seifer sighed.  
  
"Shhh," Vash shushed Seifer. "Let's listen to Zack's story."  
  
"Anyway, Katsuya, Duo and I made it to this here Burial Room and Duo made a remark about all the candles in the room and picked one up from off the table. Then, all of a sudden, these hands reached through the walls and started to grab at us. Katsuya spotted this woman in a white kimono coming towards us and we wound up backing into a corner. Unfortunately, that was a bad thing. The ghosts grabbed me and I passed out. I woke up about an hour or so ago and I found myself here.........my energy depleted........." Zack held out his pale colored wrists.  
  
"The ghosts are indeed restless........." Nate breathed.  
  
"What?" Zack asked and then became alarmed. "What are you talking about!?"  
  
"Calm down, calm down, porcupine boy........." Seifer sighed. "I'll tell you........."  
  
Seifer proceeded to explain everything to Zack and when he was finished, the blood had completely drained from Zack's face.  
  
"So you mean.........I'm gonna die!?" Zack glanced at his wrists and then tried to rub the pale color off of them.  
  
"That won't work," Squall told him. "it's a curse. Luckily, you've only been attacked by ghosts. If you were attacked by the Rope Shrine Maiden herself, then you'd get marks on your neck, wrists and legs, and THEN you'll die."  
  
"Technically, Squall," Seifer said. "It won't really matter who he's attacked by. A ghost can do just as much damage by sucking the life out of us. That will weaken us and make us easy prey for other ghosts. So in my humble opinion, I'd say that that is about as bad as getting attacked by the Rope Shrine Maiden herself. Those may not be rope marks on Zack's wrists, but they're marks of the ghosts. We definitely DON'T want to cross paths with them."  
  
"But don't worry," Zell reassured, "I still have my camera."  
  
"Who knows how long that good luck will last," Vash remarked.  
  
"Yes, I am still in awe of that story about those ghosts getting captured inside the camera........." The subject change only lasted a few seconds. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm gonna die!" Zack tried his hardest not to whine, but it wasn't working.  
  
"So, that means that you don't know where Katsuya or Duo are?" Vash asked.  
  
"No, not a clue. But I'm reckoning that they're in the same state as me, considering that we were altogether at the time. I just don't know if they're still alive." Zack sighed.  
  
"Oh, they're probably still alive. It's just WHERE that I'm worried about........." Seifer looked around. "And there doesn't seem to be much left in this old dump, so let's try the door over there."  
  
"Well, you should be fine now," Nate patted Zack on the back, "After all, we do know how to dispatch these ghosts."  
  
That didn't seem to make Zack feel any better.  
  
"Awww man.........I can't die! Not now, I still haven't even proposed to Aeris yet!" Zack sighed and slumped over. "My life is ruined."  
  
Seifer rolled his eyes, tired of his whining, and headed for the door on the right. He opened it up and it led him outside to a porch area.  
  
"Hey, guys! Look!" Seifer motioned them out of the Storeroom and pointed in front of him. "It's the backyard! We're finally free!"  
  
But as they ran out the door and onto the deck, a hand reached up through the wood and grabbed Nate's leg, making him fall to his knees.  
  
"Ugh!" Nate scrambled to get free, but the ghost was immensely strong and it felt as though the life was being sucked out of him.  
  
Zack turned around and then grabbed Zell.  
  
"Zell! The camera!" Zack shouted as he watched Nate collapse to the ground entirely, the ghost still clutching firmly onto his leg.  
  
"Hang on Nate-dog! I'm coming!" Zell shouted as he jumped over the rail and began to snap pictures in an enraged fit. "Let him go you spoony, stinky, smelly, gross, ugly, icky-icky, ghost!"  
  
The ghost shrieked and let go of Nate's leg and retreated back under the porch.  
  
"Oh nooooo you don't!" Zell got down on all fours and began to shoot pictures randomly into the hole. "You aren't getting away THAT easily!"  
  
A bright light emerged from the whole and a spirit was sucked into Zell's camera. Zell sat there, breathing heavily.  
  
"Way to go, Zell." Squall walked over to check up on Nate.  
  
"He's still alive, right?" Vash asked, fear sweeping over him.  
  
"I.........I think so........." Squall turned him over and waved a hand in front of his face. "I.........HOPE so........."  
  
"What!? You're not for sure!?" Zack ran over to Squall's side, with Seifer and Vash behind, and knelt down to examine Nate.  
  
"What the heck did those ghosts do to him anyway?" Zell asked.  
  
"Well, when that man with the long arms attacked me," Squall explained. "I started to feel really tired. The longer he held onto me, the more tired I became."  
  
"Same here!" Zack said. "Didn't you feel like everything was turning a gray color and they were pulling you into something?"  
  
Squall nodded.  
  
"Exactly the same. I wonder if that's what Nate went through."  
  
Suddenly, Nate began to stir and his eyes opened.  
  
"Why, may I ask, is everyone hovering over me?" Nate asked, and struggled to get to his feet. He stumbled and Zack caught him around the arm.  
  
"Well only BECAUSE that ghost almost creamed you!" Seifer told him.  
  
"Did.........I really.........almost die?" Nate asked, clutching the side of his head.  
  
"Sure did," Squall told him. "If it wasn't for Zell here, I think you would've been a goner too."  
  
"Uh, excuse me Squall, could you speak into my GOOD ear, I thought I heard you praise me........." Zell batted his eyes at Squall, who groaned and turned away.  
  
"So where are we now?" Vash asked.  
  
"This looks like the Cherry Atrium part of the yard, considering that all the trees here are Cherry Atriums." Nate told him.  
  
"Hey! I don't even see a fence line of where it begins or ends. It doesn't help that it's dark out and everything is covered with bushes and trees." Seifer sighed.  
  
"Whoever has us in here doesn't intend for us to get out........." Squall said. Now, if only we could find out where Katsuya and Duo are........."  
  
"Duh!" Zell slapped himself in the forehead. "We are SOOO stupid! The cell phones!"  
  
"Oh yeah!" Seifer looked at him. "Great thinking Chickenwuss."  
  
"I would normally be offended to hear you call me that at a time like this," Zell told him as he pulled out his Zellaphone, "but right now I'm overly elated at the fact that I came up with something brilliant!"  
  
"For once," Squall said.  
  
"Yes, for once.........HEY!" Zell shot a sour glare towards Squall and turned to listen as the phone began to ring.  
  
He let it ring forty-three times before he put it back in his pocket.  
  
"I'll take it, by the twenty-five minutes we've wasted by standing here, that he's doesn't have his phone with him, am I right?" Squall sighed and jumped off the porch. "Look, there's a shrine over there. Let's see if they're in it."  
  
Seifer went up to the door and jiggled the handle.  
  
"Unfortunately for us," He told his comrades," It's locked."  
  
"Great........." Zack said. "Well, just shout in there and see if anyone's in there."  
  
"Hey! Hey! Anyone in there!?" Then Seifer added, "Of course, don't answer if you're a ghost or anything........."  
  
"Neither of them are in there," Vash said. "They would've answered already. But I did notice that there's a door to the side of the shrine. Let's have a look at that."  
  
The six crept around the side and opened the door slowly. They tiptoed in, Squall in the lead, and then stopped by an active waterwheel.  
  
"This must be the Abyss by the looks of it." Nate said.  
  
"Hey, just out of curiosity," Zell glanced at the rich boy. "but how do you always know where we are? You always seem to know which rooms we're in........."  
  
"Of course," Seifer looked at him and gestured to Nate. "He only HAS a 16 million dollar mansion! He should know very well what rooms we're in."  
  
"Well.........yes and no. Mr. Almasy is on the right track." Nate motioned out further into the Abyss. "You see, my father always had a fascination with the Himuro Mansion and when he had our house built, it was built with the same layout as Himuro Mansion. So, I am pretty familiar with the basic layout."  
  
"WHAT!?" Seifer looked at the rich boy with fury. "So ALL this time you knew where the way out was, but you've been holding out on us!?"  
  
"Heh, not exactly," Nate held his hands up in defense and laughed as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his cheek. "That's why I said 'basic'. You see my father lived in that mansion and I was seven years old when I first set foot in it. From then on, I learned the basic structures of the house, but the house was torn down a few months later due to the construction of Nanjo Industries, so I never learned the real secrets of that mansion. Which means that I don't know the complex version of this house either. Trust me, after that incident that happened back there, I'd be the FIRST to make a break out of this house if I knew where the exit was."  
  
"Well how did your dad know what the Himuro Mansion look like in the first place?" Seifer probed further.  
  
"Easy. There's a blueprint of the basic structure of Himuro Mansion in the hands of the original architects. But afterwards, the inhabitants of Himuro Mansion began to add on to the house so there aren't blueprints for that."  
Seifer accepted that logic and turned to look back at the waterwheel.  
  
"Well, I'm thirsty, and after all of that ghost hunting. I guess I'll just get a drink of water here."  
  
"Uh Seifer?" Zell looked over at the water. "Do you know how old that water even is?"  
  
"It doesn't matter! Water is water!" Seifer told him and knelt down by the water wheel. He scooped up some water and sipped into his hand. He swished the water around in his mouth and realized how good it felt to be relaxed. All of this running around was making him tired.  
  
He swallowed and put his hands back into the water for more. But he noticed that the water had changed color this time. It had gone from the lovely crystal blue color to a deep, dark rich color of red.  
  
"Seifer? What's wrong?" Vash asked.  
  
Seifer didn't answer. Didn't they see it!? Drip. Drip. Drip. Blood fell into the water. Seifer looked up and began to shriek. There, tied to the waterwheel, was a young woman in a red sweater, bloodied and bruised. A rope had been tied securely around her neck and blood from her wrists fell into the water below.  
  
"AAAAHHHH!!!!" Seifer screamed and watched as the body disappeared. Just another ghost, that was all.  
  
"Seifer? Seifer!? What's the matter!?" Seifer's comrades ran and grabbed his shoulders, trying to calm him down.  
  
"The.........there.........is.........I.........blood.........water......... " Seifer finally gave up.  
  
"What is it, Seifer? What's there?" Zack shook him.  
  
Seifer broke out into tears and collapsed to the ground, sobbing hysterically.  
  
"I WANT MR. SNUGGLES!!!" He cried into the air and buried his face into his sleeve.  
  
"Who?" Zack looked at Squall.  
  
"His teddy bear." Squall sighed and pulled Seifer to his feet. "Seifer, shut up, stop sniveling, and tell us what happened."  
  
"Okay," He sniffed and wiped his nose and the tears from his swollen eyes. "There.........there was a body tied to the top of that waterwheel."  
  
Vash turned to look back at the waterwheel and shook his head.  
  
"There's nobody there, Seifer."  
  
"Of course not!" He screamed. "They're gone now!"  
  
"Okay, okay, Mr. Almasy, this has been tough on us all. How about one other person and I go to look for Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Suou. The other four can stay here and rest for awhile." Nate suggested.  
  
"No way!" Vash disagreed. "Something's bound to happen to one of the groups. I don't wanna split up again."  
  
"He's right," Squall said. "In case one group disappears, it'll be a real pain to look for Duo, Katsuya, AND that other group as well. Just give us a minute and we'll be on our way."  
  
"I don't know if we HAVE a minute. What if something happens to those two?" Nate asked, referring to Katsuya and Duo.  
  
"Then there's nothing we can do. Look, give us two minutes and we'll start again on the search and rescue mission, all right?" Squall gave Nate a hard look, which in turn made the young man responded quietly to a "yes".  
  
"Excellent," Zack said, patting the sniffling Seifer on the back. "I think we could all use a break anyway."  
  
Squall sat down on the grass and stretched his arms out in front of him. A pale mark on his wrist caught his attention, and he rolled up his jacket sleeves.  
  
"They're gray.........Like Zack's." He breathed to himself. Squall felt himself quiver all over as the faint marks implanted themselves inside his mind.  
  
"What's the matter, Mr. Leonhart?" Nate asked, concerned.  
  
"I.........I have pale marks on my wrists........." Squall choked out and everyone became alarmed.  
  
"Are those because of that ghost that attacked you earlier?" Vash asked.  
  
"That ghost who attacked me.........Yes, I'm certain. These ghosts must all have the power to implant those these kind of marks on us."  
  
"True," Nate agreed. "Only the Rope Maidens have the power to mark us with ropes. But what if it's only a warm-up for these ghosts.......?"  
  
Nate quickly rolled up both his pant legs and the same pale marks were to be found on his ankles.  
  
"You have them too, Mr. Nanjo?" Zack asked.  
  
"Yes, I see now. " Nate said to no one in particular. "These ghosts must have their own personal agendas as well. When we're attacked, our energy depletes, correct?"  
  
"Wait........." Squall closed his eyes to think and then reopened them. "So you're saying that these ghosts just wear us down for the Rope Shrine Maiden?"  
  
"Well, yes, that has to be it. Our energy hasn't completely regained itself, has it?"  
  
Squall shook his head. "No. I suppose you're right. They catch us so that she can place that curse on us."  
  
"Well why doesn't she kill us immediately?" Zell asked.  
  
"Because.........the curse is a slow curse, she can't kill us instantly." Squall answered.  
  
"Well this is just great!" Zell sighed heavily and looked at Seifer. "Well, it's probably safe to say that Duo and Katsuya have the same pale marks you do. Or worse yet, they have the actual rope marks. It's just me, Vash and Seifer who don't."  
  
"Seifer, Vash, and 'I'." Nate corrected. He couldn't stand to listen to improper grammar.  
  
"Well, then I suggest that we get outta here as soon as possible." Zack turned to look at Seifer. "Hey Seif! You okay now?"  
  
"Fine! Just...fine!" Seifer's bottom lip was trembling.  
  
"Oh he'll be okay," Squall sighed and turned his gaze to Seifer. "Hey Almasy, who's the Sorceress's Knight?"  
  
That seemed to bring Seifer somewhat out of his trance.  
  
"...Me."  
  
"And who took over Galbadian Garden with one hand tied behind his back?"  
  
"Uh, I'd prefer it to be called 'Zellbadian Garden', Squall..." Zell smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You know how sensitive I get when people pronounce it wrong."  
  
Squall rolled his eyes.  
  
"Why...that was me too!" Seifer's ego seemed to be inflating again.  
  
"And who became a SeeD after twenty-nine failure attempts?"  
  
"Me!"  
  
"And who lost to Balamb Garden..."  
  
"Zellamb, THANK you very much!" Came Zell's voice.  
  
"ZELLAMB Garden...." Squall gave a death glare to Zell, "Lost his posse, his romantic dream, and mirror and comb all on the same day?"  
  
"M---...Uh..." Seifer's face became dejected. "Okay Squall, you don't have to rub it in."  
  
Squall chuckled.  
  
"Gotcha. Seriously Seifer, I couldn't resist."  
  
"Well, now that we have Mr. Almasy's ego back to par, I suggest we go and try to find the rest of our comrades." Nate pulled himself to his feet. "Just be careful not to run into anymore ghosts."  
  
"Speak for yourself..." Zell mumbled and grabbed his camera.  
  
Hmmm.I'm doing a lot of rearranging on this story, so that's why it's taking so long. PLEASE REVIEW! FOR THE LOVE OF FANFICS PLEASE REVIEW! sniffle  
  
Parallel_Blue13115 


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